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From the moment we saw Daryl Somers on stage to present the Gold Logie award it seemed a fait accompli; Sonia Kruger had won the Gold Logie.
Kruger, who is set to co-host Channel Seven’s 20th season of Dancing With The Stars this year alongside Somers, won the top gong at the 63rd annual TV Week Logie Awards.
Sonia Kruger accepts her Gold Logie.Credit: Seven
Kruger is a previous Gold Logie nominee and hosts a suite of shows for Channel Seven including Dancing With The Stars, Big Brother and The Voice. Kruger’s win comes after Channel Seven picked up the Logie broadcast from Channel Nine this year, and the network campaigned hard for their golden girl.
Hamish Blake was the hot favourite to win a third Gold Logie, but in recent days odds had shortened on Kruger.
Sonia Kruger arrives on the red carpet at the awards in Sydney. Credit: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images
After another marathon broadcast, Daryl Somers took to the stage well after 11pm. Somers was dusted off to present the award, the former Hey Hey It’s Saturday! presenter indulging in a too-long monologue before finally getting it underway.
If we’re being honest, and it’s nearly midnight so we must be, Daryl’s entire bit was much like his career, a bit awkward and something we’d rather not discuss in depth.
After hosting the red carpet arrivals for Seven’s coverage of the event, Kruger changed outfits for the award ceremony. Credit: Getty
After a long but mostly enjoyable ceremony once again the Logies couldn’t get out of its own way, fixating on the past, rather than embracing the future. Somers’ entire speech was tiresome, unnecessary, and (the biggest crime), just not that funny.
Then came the moment we’d all been waiting for, Kruger’s golden win and a win for Channel Seven too. To her credit, the 57-year-old was quick to pay tribute to the powers that be.“I’d like to thank God, AKA [Seven CEO]James Warburton, who had the genius idea of stealing an idea from Channel Nine [The Voice] and making it better,” she joked.
“I’d also like to thank my family, whose names escape me, and if my dad was here, he would just be so proud.”
Kruger was initially introduced to Australian audiences in the role of Tina Sparkle in Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 breakthrough hit, Strictly Ballroom, and that appearance morphed into a long and successful career in TV.
It’s often become an easy gag that Sonia Kruger hosts everything in TV, and during her acceptance speech, Kruger spoke warmly about the value of presenting.
“I read a sign backstage that said, ‘Hosting is not about what you do, but how you make other people feel,’ and you have made me feel so good.”
Kruger’s career has not been without controversy. In 2016, during an appearance on the morning show Today, Kruger called for a complete ban on Muslims entering Australia, in agreement with an opinion piece by commentator Andrew Bolt.
The statement triggered widespread debate and condemnation. Fast forward to 2023 and Kruger has won the Gold Logie, handed out to the most popular personality on Australian television.
Kruger kept her acceptance speech short and sweet, perhaps conscious of the long run time, signing off with a simple: “Thank you so much, I don’t know what else to say.”